Thanks - I'm hesitant to give the water a taste, because of the greasy engine compartment. I'm actually fairly hopeful that it's freshwater coming from a leak in some cockpit fitting. After drying it out and sailing for a period, there hasn't been accumulated water. That and the above discussion makes me think above-waterline leak. My only other major concern is if it's a tiny leak from a through-hull.

Are there any materials or tints you can use to help find minor leaks? I'm imagining some sort of paper material or dye that you can use to mark around fittings.

Get the interior of the bilge as dry as possible then take some paper towels and put them in the bilge races (...what's the right word for the pathways the water takes from the source of the leak to the sump?) ....at various locations around the boat. When you come back and find a wet towel you know the leak is somewhere up hill from that spot. Repeat, as necessary, moving "up hill" -- you'll eventually find the leak. (Some of it may be condensation, in which case there is no "leak").

For pure water, the boiling point is 100 degrees Celsius (212 Fahrenheit) at one atmosphere of pressure, and saltwater, the boiling point is raised and depends on the amount of salt. So if it boils at 212 deg F. it is fresh, anything higher is salt.

My boat takes on ~4 gallons of water between the bilge and engine compartment. It takes about two months to accumulate this much, at which point I slop it all out. This is my first boat and I'm trying to understand how normal this is. After removing the majority of the water, I've looked for minor leaks but can't find anything. Is it typical to always have a small amount of water in the hull?

If it helps, this is a 1978 33 foot Peterson. Overall very hardy, I'd just like to keep water out of the boat.

OK, that amounts to about 1 cup of water per day. Perhaps a bit more than I'd like, but hardly something to panic about. If your stuffing box is in need of maintenance you could easily get that much water. But from what you say, my bet is that you're getting leaks above the water line, probably through ports, hatches, hawse pipe, and likely through deck fittings. It's an older boat. It's bound to have some leaks.

I assume you have a automatic bilge pump? If not, get one. Do check out the thru hulls to confirm all are solid and not leaking, and watch your stuffing box some more. It better leak some when the shaft is turning, unless it is a no-drip box. If it's a tank leaking, then find that and fix it. But really, one cup a day is not a big deal. Less is better, but not something to loose too much sleep over.

Many ways to find leakage. You can use a Crayola "washable marker" and draw a line on fiberglass or metal. If water drips down it will erase the line.

Or dust a space with plain talcum powder. Water running down will leave tracks in the powder.

Does your two months mean with the prop running? Or not? If the amount of water varies with prop use, it could be the stuffing box. If that hasn't been repacked in five years, it is a first choice to take a look at. Repacking with GoreTex string or Teflon putty may solve the problem.

If the water is coming in from abovedecks with rains, there are ways to find deck leaks and fix them as well. Plenty of threads on that already.

Normal to have water in the bilge? Some, sure, unless you are drying it out. Coupla gallons sloshing around mean you are soaking the keel bolts though, and that's not a good idea.

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